Japan Titanium Import Expands in April

Japanese titanium import jumped up by 3.5 times to 1,213 tonnes in April from a year earlier, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The import increased remarkably when the demand is strong from Japanese titanium fabricators and titanium sponge makers are increasing their output capacities. The averaged unit price of imported titanium downed by 33% year-on-year to reflect easier supply and demand balance.The import of rare earths decreased by 37% year-on-year in April, which are used such for permanent magnets. Lithium import decreased by 11%, the major material for secondary cells, and cerium import decreased by 22%, used as abrasive agent for liquid crystal panels. Tantalum import expanded by 4 times, applied into capacitors.The averaged unit prices surged up year-on-year in April for rare earths such as cerium, yttrium, lanthanum when the international rare earth prices soared due to Chinese export tax raise. The averaged unit price also rose year-on-year for cobalt, molybdenum, vanadium and bismuth.